Sadly Dancing
by rwbybomb21
Summary: Ruby Rose; insane, crazy, off her rocker, etc...how will she cope when Weiss, her crush, is going with Neptune? Well, maybe she finds that there's another who would love her for who she is, not what...


**Story idea I came up with after reading 'Cheering you up'. So, to the author of that story, I give partial credit to.**

**I don't own RWBY, yada yada yada- can we get on with this now?**

(^^^^^^)

Ruby Rose; while she may be partially- okay, completely- insane, slightly sadistic and a weapons nut, she still had feelings, emotions, dreams and wants.

It didn't bother her that she had very few friends, and it certainly didn't bother her that she had very good- in her opinion- fashion sense. It didn't bother her that many refused to even talk to her because of her insanity and tendencies to talk to herself, and it certainly didn't worry her that some would glare at her.

What did, though, was what _Weiss_ thought of her. Of course they had a very rocky relationship that had just improved, but Ruby needed to hear a compliment from her sane teammate- that was another thing that bothered her; she always got branded insane, insecure, unnatural and a monster. She was just a normal person with normal knees, right?

Sure, she liked hunting Grimm and slashing them up, laughing while she did so, or taking apart and putting back together her bastardised scythe-sniper just for fun, but she just wanted others to look past those features like Ozpin had done.

Back to Weiss, she was currently putting on a dress, white and elegant like her- well, at least Ruby had poetic romance, compared to her usual bluntness dealing with situations. Yang was the only other that knew of her fascination with poems, finding that they calm the girl down from lashing out whenever someone angers her.

Weiss' dress was pretty simple, but Ruby saw it as the most beautiful thing out there; white looked like diamond to her, and the tiara upon her unravelled hair made her look like Ruby's favourite Fairy Tale princess; while Snow White didn't have white hair, she figured she would look like this if she did.

All Ruby had to do was ask her to the dance; can't be that hard, right?

Ruby trotted over to Weiss, her smile never leaving her- it hadn't for the past eleven years. "Heya, Weissey!" Ruby waved, her enthusiasm lost to Weiss, who simply looked at her with disdain.

"Ruby, please not now. Go and stab something, just go away." Weiss was always like this to Ruby, often taking stabs at the girl to see the results. Ruby, under usual circumstances, wouldn't mind; hell, even Yang would join in and Ruby would just smile, flash that unwavering smile and giggle.

Weiss was surprised when she thought she saw hurt in Ruby's constantly shaking, insanity-filled eyes. She thought she saw them stop shaking, if just for a second, before Ruby simply smiled and walked off, ready to get changed for the dance.

Blake watched with mild concern: Ruby, to be honest, never bothered her; she found her insane state quite funny, quite endearing that she always saw the world with a smile.

She sat there, her black and white, shin low dress with slits on the thighs, staring at the bathroom door Ruby was to appear out of dressed for the dance in just a minute or so.

Of course, while she didn't really act it, she was quite interested in what kind of dress Ruby would wear, what colour it would be- red, obviously- and what accessories would be added.

Weiss was thinking the same thing- though with less enthusiasm; so you can imagine their surprise when she walked out in a dark red tuxedo with a loose fitting white shirt underneath with her signature red rose pinned to the left breast. Her hair was the same style, but her shoes were black dress shoes, and she wore gloves on each hand, the same dark red as her suit. The shirt had the top button undone, adding to the casual yet smart look she was going for; Blake had to admit it, Ruby had excellent fashion sense.

Ruby's smile was there, aimed at a shocked Weiss whose eyes were roaming up and down Ruby, as if in disbelief. "Well, do you like it, Weiss? I like red, and I thought red would suit whatever I wear, and I don't like dresses, so..." Ruby suddenly stopped midsentence; that was odd for Ruby, she would ramble on and on with herself, eventually having to be told to stop talking.

Blake noted that, and the way Ruby looked at Weiss; hope in her shaking, silver insane eyes.

She noted that the hope disappeared to hurt, once again, when Weiss told her what she truly thought- she just knew lying would make Ruby angry, and that was something no one wanted to deal with without Yang present.

"...Truly?" Weiss asked, to which Ruby nodded. Immediately, Weiss' scowl was back tenfold. "You look like a boy; an insane, psychotic boy. I don't know who you're trying to impress, but it certainly isn't me."

Even Blake had to admit that was going too far; Ruby's eyes didn't just display hurt now, her entire body did, and Weiss seemed to take notice.

But it was the truth, and the truth always hurts; but Weiss had not told the whole truth, that how she thought Ruby looked amazing, even in a suit, or how she thought she looked cute.

For the first time in, well, forever, Ruby's eyes stopped shaking, her demeanour lost its happy outlook, and her voice cracked with sadness. "O-Okay, then..." she walked over and flopped onto her bed, looking at the ceiling before having an internal conflict with one of the 'voices' inside her head, appropriately named Yin; it was like Yang's twin inside her head, always nice and teasing, but comforting like Yang and knew exactly what to say.

Weiss looked at Blake, who looked at her with an angered look, and just as she was about to apologise to the clearly hurt Ruby, Ruby suddenly burst out laughing, shouting at the ceiling. "It's not funny!" Ruby shouted, and yet, whatever it was, it clearly must have been, since she was giggling and holding her sides.

Weiss simply spoke under her breath, forgetting that Blake was a Faunus, leaving the room with a smile as she met Neptune, her secret date, and walking down with Blake in tow, who looked at the dorm's closed door.

She thought on the word Weiss had muttered, and felt sorry for Ruby.

"_insane"_

But, as much as Blake wanted to disagree with that statement, she couldn't; Ruby was insane, plain and simple. With that in mind, she spared a final look at the door before walking down, meeting Yang and starting the dance.

(^^^^^^)

Ruby's eyes never left the floor, her staring at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Right now, the most interesting thing in the world would be needed to erase the last five hours of her life; after Weiss had said what she did, Ruby simply stayed up in the room for an entire forty minutes before jumping up and entering the ballroom in the most stylish way possible; she launched herself at the chandelier, using it as a swing and throwing herself at the spot she was now- nobody paid her mind; this was normal, by Ruby's standards.

Ruby dared to lift her gaze and felt her once black heart begin to crumble all over again; there was Weiss, her hands on Neptune's shoulders with her gaze into his eyes and his hands on her hips; she hated it, she just wanted to be noticed as not insane by Weiss, to be noticed at all as an equal.

She giggled to herself when she heard Yin speak. _'Hey, is she really worth the trouble?'_

Ruby spoke to Yin aloud, as she always does, and it gained her some wary eyes, but none paid her too much mind. "Yep... Y'know, I thought she would have noticed me, but oh well, I guess." Ruby causally sipped her punch while she watched with longing in her eyes- and craziness- as the other students around her started to dance.

'_Its okay, Rubes. You'll be fine; Yang still loves you, do you really need anyone else?'_

Ruby giggled as she spoke. "Yeah, I thought she was different though!...Turns out she just sees me as insane."

'_Is that really such a bad thing though?'_ Yin countered, and Ruby smiled; at least she had Yin and Yang to look after her.

"Suppose not; hey, look, friends!" Ruby waved to the approaching Nora and Ren; Nora bounced over, her arms laced around Ren's in an iron grip.

"Hi friends!" Ruby shouted, and Ren simply sighed; he hoped to not be spotted, but oh well.

"Hello~" Nora sang, her voice high pitched as always. She wore a simple dress that had ruffles at the edges and orange fading to pink from top to bottom. Ren opted for a simple green tuxedo with dark green dress shoes and a small green plastic flower on his suit.

Ren simply waved, his eyes not betraying anything, but his lack of emotion saying all she needed to hear; he really didn't like Ruby that much.

"Hey guys, how's the dance?" Ren was about to answer, but then spotted her suit, and his mind went blank; was she dressed as a boy? She looked better than he did right now!

Nora simply bounced in place; while she may never be as insane as Ruby- clearly she wasn't insane at all- she seemed to be on an indefinite sugar rush. "It's good! Haven't you danced with anyone?"

This was when Jaune and Pyrrha came over, Pyrrha in a red, almost skin-tight dress with Jaune in a simple black tuxedo.

Ruby hung her head for a second, as if thinking, before her gaze drifted to where Weiss was- currently kissing Neptune!? She simply sighed wistfully, wishing it could be her kissing Weiss.

Jaune noticed- so he wasn't as dense as people made him out to be. "Wait, you...you liked Weiss?" his face was sad, but he only felt sympathy; yes, wile he had been chasing her for a while, Jaune had given up on going after Weiss and settled for Pyrrha, her here as his date. Pyrrha looked worried for Ruby- she, Jaune and Ren all noticed that she hadn't lifted her head from staring at the ground, and had her eyes screwed shut, as if holding something in.

"Ruby, are you okay...?" Pyrrha gently asked, not daring to lay a hand on Ruby's shoulder, but just letting it hover over it.

"You know, she might have been mean and scary and shouts a lot, but I liked her; I really, really liked her." Ruby's voice didn't hold insane enthusiasm anymore, it was just sad, quiet, as if she had just witnessed someone die- again.

Pyrrha just looked at her with sad eyes, wanting so badly to comfort the girl, but she simply let her arm drop and wrapped her own around Jaune's. "Well, I'm sure you'll be okay Ruby; there are plenty of people out there." Jaune said, and then started laughing. "Hell, you look better than I do right now!"

Ruby smiled, wide and crazy like always...but she didn't lift her head. She started giggling, beginning to scare the others; she always does that, they shouldn't be scared, but a giggling Ruby was an unpredictable Ruby. she giggled while she killed Grimm- and, unknowingly to the others, people- and ate sweet things, she giggled when she hated someone and liked someone; you could never tell with Ruby.

Another reason why everyone constantly ignored or scowled at her; it didn't bother her, not a lot of things did.

Neptune did, though. Neptune kissing Weiss was forever burnt in her mind; Ruby lifted her head, the smile back, but her gaze never leaving Weiss. She sighed, before looking around the ballroom, the smile never leaving now, seemingly forgetting that Jaune and the others were there, and watching her. eventually, Ren, Pyrrha and Nora left while Jaune simply took a cup of punch and sipped it, handing another to Ruby.

"Thank you~" she chugged nearly the entire thing, and Jaune was nearly finished.

In a moment of hesitance, he clinked his cup against Ruby's. "...To the lonely socially awkward people."

Ruby clinked back, the smile growing. "To the insane, psychopathic- wait, you're not lonely, you have Pyrrha!" she shouted it, and his face went white.

"Oh, yeah!" he slammed his cup down, and after apologising to Ruby, he left.

Now she knew what being alone felt like.

'_You're not_ alone'. Yin was always there for her.

But for once, Ruby didn't answer back, her eyes, shaking wildly, just scanned the area, before she laid her silver crazed orbs on Yang and Blake, who were sharing a hearty kiss while dancing, the people around them either gawking or doing the same. Weiss was still kissing Neptune, and Nora was kissing Ren; the boy didn't seem to mind, though. Jaune was bumbling as he did so, but he still managed to kiss a very red Pyrrha.

Ruby thought she looked like a tomato.

While she was wallowing in self-pity, she hadn't noticed Ozpin standing next to her.

When she turned her sad, crazed eyes to the man, his stone cold gaze softened. "Ruby, are you okay?"

Ruby just looked at Weiss, and sighed. The professor followed her eyes and winced; this was probably going to be hard for the already insane girl to every recover from, and it would be awkward, with them being partners and all.

"I'm so sorry Ruby."

Ruby turned, her eyes wide with tears brimming on the edges, but her smile still there. "Why, did you have something to do with this?" She accused, but it was a joking tone.

Ozpin simply raised his hands in mock surrender and shook his head.

"So why are you sorry?" she tilted her head, whispering something that sounded like 'not now Yin'.

"Well, this has to be hard on you, right?"

Ruby simply nodded. "Yep! But think about it, nobody will ever want to date me anyway." The way Ruby said it was as if she truly believed that, and that was what made Ozpin mentally cringe; she shouldn't be discriminated simply because she sees the world differently.

Ozpin just looked at her. "How so?" he sipped his coffee while he spoke- was he ever without his coffee?

Ruby just spoke enthusiastically. "Well, all people see me as is insane! Crazy! Loopy!" she giggled softly. "Who would want to date that?"

"You're mother doesn't see you as insane."

"My mother can't date me, now can she? I'm insane, I know that...Heh...insane...but still, think! No one wants to die without having dated, grown old with someone, do they?

Ozpin, for the first time in his life, couldn't answer that question; he had heard her ramblings, her menacing threats- which she always makes good on- and he had seen the way the students look at her. He had always just seen her as a student with one more burden to bear; he hadn't even seen her as insane until she pointed it out on there first meeting when he accepted her into Beacon.

For the first time in his life, he was speechless.

She was insane, he knew that, but how could he say that to someone who was clearly hurting? He simply couldn't, and so without another word, he downed is coffee as an excuse to leave and stand next to Glynda, who watched sadly as her daughter simply stood there, grin on her face as she stared at everyone.

Well, technically, Glynda was her mother, just not the one that 'popped her out', as Ruby so tactfully said one day. Summer Rose, Ruby's true mother, died when Ruby was simply a year old, and Glynda being one of Summer's teammates, decided to adopt the girl, not knowing the insanity she would be bringing with her.

Since then, Ruby always saw her as a mother, always calling her 'mother' and 'mama'. Glynda never objected, and took this with stride, acknowledging her as if she were her own blood. While Yang rejected the adoption, she still called Glynda by her first name, and it didn't really rile her up as much as she thought it would; it seems as long as Ruby has someone who loves her in her life aside from her sister, then Yang could acknowledge her as being Ruby's mother.

Besides, why call her Ruby Goodwitch-Rose if she wasn't seen as a Goodwitch?

Ozpin came and stood next to her. "Sir, what's wrong?" she noticed he looked troubled, and so called him out on it.

Ozpin sighed. "She's going through heartbreak, but simply doesn't care."

Goodwitch looked stunned. "...Heartbreak?" Ozpin simply nodded to Ruby, who was looking at Weiss with longing and yet insanity in her eyes.

"Oh, poor Ruby..." Glynda simply sighed; as much as she wanted to comfort her hurting daughter, she couldn't. She had a responsibility to watch over this dance, she couldn't do anything, and Ozpin knew it, so he simply sighed, both of them staring at Ruby, who was now watching the other dance and kiss and hold hands.

For them it was awkward to watch, but for Ruby, it must've been a million tiny little knives stabbing into her heart.

(^^^^^^)

The dance was over, the deed, done.

But after everyone cleared out and the janitors came to clean the hall, Ruby still remained. She was there, next to the punch bowl, with what must have been the thirtieth cup of punch this night.

She eventually sighed and trudged her way to the dorm, humming a little tune as she did.

She didn't even notice the sock on the door, or hear the small, muffled moans coming from within.

She opened the door, stared, and closed again; she wiped her eyes, before looking back in with a frown on her face.

There was Yang, clothing long since discarded, on top of a wide eyed Blake, her clothing and bow long since gone.

Both stared at Ruby, who looked uncharacteristically sad.

Without a word, Ruby walked over to her bed, got undressed under the watchful eyes of the two girls, and launched herself at her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Blake and Yang just sighed and got dressed again; Ruby seemed to not have such a good night like they all did. Weiss went home with Neptune, her and Blake got lucky, Jaune and Pyrrha were undoubtedly in the middle of something, same with Nora and Ren; the only one left alone was Ruby.

'_Just like she always has been'_. Yang thought bitterly as she stood up, now dressed, and walked her way over to Ruby, who was softly sniffling.

Ruby never cried; never. She's always smiled that crazed toothy smile, always. Tears never came from her face, she never sniffled, cried, sobbed or even snorted; she never did.

But now, here she is, a testament to how broken she is.

And all Yang could do...was watch. Watch with sympathy- no one knew what it was like to feel and see the world as Ruby did, so empathy was never there. She just walked over to the hanging bed of Ruby's, and listened to her erratic sniffling -she was clearly keeping the crying away.

"Hey Ruby...What's wrong?" yang's voice was now soft, gentle; a harsh testament to what everyone else was around her- Ruby was so alike with the Faunus, in her regard. She was raised differently, she was discriminated because she was different...people always frowned when they saw her smiling, and hated her to her very core.

There would probably be a celebration after Ruby died or left Beacon; that only served to make the watching Faunus Blake feel worse.

Ruby's voice when she spoke was a contrast to how she was feeling, however. "Nothing's wrong; you know, just the everyday heartbreak and feeling of betrayal, nothing out of the ordinary."

'_But you know it is, Ruby; don't lie.'_ She continued to ignore Yin.

Yang's lavender eyes softened, and she slowly crawled up on Ruby's bed; Blake left the room, giving them some privacy. She wrapped her arms around Ruby, and pulled her in; Ruby still had her tuxedo on.

"C'mere sis; tell big sis Yang what's wrong."

And just like that, Ruby began giggling and crying at the same time. "Weiss! She's what's wrong!" she laughed hysterically, tears flowing down her cheeks as she did so. "Heh, I liked her you know? Liked that frigid ice bitch a lot...but she's just like everyone else, and I'm so stupid, stupidly stupid for even liking her!" Ruby tried to bang her hands on her head, but Yang's grip stopped that.

Yang tightened her grip on the laughing-crying girl and whispered. "So, you liked Weiss?"

Ruby simply giggled more. "Yep! And now I'm stupid!"

Why are you stupid?" she whispered; keeping calm was the only way to keep Ruby calm, but it seems Ruby's just too angry at herself...and Weiss.

"Because she's like everyone else!" Ruby practically shouted that, unaware of Weiss on the other side of the door, with Blake listening in; only Blake could hear what Yang said, but Ruby was shouting, making it easy for them both to hear.

"She's mean! I know I'm insane, but do you think I like reminders!? NO! I DON'T!" Ruby's sobs broke through her laughing. "I just wanted to be normal! Normal girl with normal knees! That's me!" then it all went quiet for about five seconds, before she spoke up next. "But I'm not normal, as Weiss and Blake and everyone else constantly reminds me..."

Weiss winced at that.

"So why are you angry with Weiss?" Yang could be heard saying.

Ruby simply groaned. "Didn't you hear at all? I liked her! But not anymore, no no no...I just wanted one chance, one! But NO, she has to be all mean and...And evil! No one will ever like me, no one..."

Weiss and Blake were both sad now; they didn't know why they said or thought the things they did. Ruby was just like them, but with a different view on the world.

Blake felt horrible, while Weiss...felt downright awful.

She had just been, inadvertently, the first crush this girl had, and at the same time, rejected her, insulted her, and bullied her, all in the same night.

They walked in, their heads hung low, to see Ruby working as if nothing happened, at her desk, typing on a scroll with one hand while writing something down with the other; the girl was a multitasker, you can't fault her for that.

Yang just glared at Weiss the whole way through; Weiss sat on her bed, and looked with a sad face and low head at Ruby- of course she meant the things she always said to the girl, why wouldn't she? The girl was nothing but a menace, but at the same time, she was just a normal person with not-so-normal features.

Ruby suddenly got up and left the dorm, whistling a happy tune as she did.

(^^^^^^)

The trip to team JNPR's dorm was short, but it made up for the silence; she hated silence, but she had to ignore Yin today, she didn't know why, she just felt that ignoring him would make her feel better.

It didn't, but why stop now?

She knocked on the door three times, and ignoring the protests coming from the other side, barged in.

She giggled at what she saw; there was Pyrrha, red faced and annoyed, at a floundering Jaune; both clearly hadn't noticed her entrance, and she noticed a distinct lack of Ren and Nora.

"Jaune, I refuse to explain it; if I just don't like you that way, then you should ignore it."

Jaune threw his hands up in the air. "But I don't understand!" that was when he spotted Ruby, who was watching amusedly with large, shaky eyes. He sighed and slumped as he greeted her. "...Hey Ruby."

She walked in, nodding to a suddenly red Pyrrha, and giggled again. "Oh, trouble in paradise?"

Jaune simply nodded, which got Pyrrha mad again. "Jaune, we are not dating, that is it."

Ruby butted in, her smart-insane side showing. "Okay, lovey birdies, tell me what's wrong."

They both eyed her, Pyrrha with a blush again, and Jaune with a sad face. "Basically," he started "me and Pyrrha kissed at the dance, but she keeps telling me we're not going out."

Ruby eyed Pyrrha, before looking at Jaune; she noticed that every time she eyed Pyrrha, the Amazonian would blush and smile shyly; Yin connected the dots for her.

"You do know she's gay, right?" she asked Jaune, and just like that, everyone except for her- who was rocking from one side to the other, whistling- froze, Pyrrha with a look of embarrassment while Jaune had a look of shock.

Pyrrha turned to face Ruby. "How...did you know?"

Ruby just laughed. "Pyrrha, I'm gay! We just know..." she then rubbed her head, the feelings of sadness about to envelop her again; to avoid them, she turned to Pyrrha, said a quick goodbye to Jaune, and dragged her out of the room, giggling all the way.

"Ruby, wait!" but Ruby didn't hear her; she was running too fast with an iron grip on her wrist. She simply complied, running at her own pace to keep up with the redhead.

They arrived at the ballroom- no janitors, no streamers and no people-and Ruby stood in the middle of the room, her hand held out dramatically. "Come, milady, let us dance!" she exclaimed, and Pyrrha held one hand over her mouth to stifle the giggles as she grabbed the outstretched hand with the other.

Ruby immediately began dragging her around in circular motions; she was surprisingly good at ballroom dancing, considering she never had danced before. She began to hum some imaginary music, moving to the tempo in her head, and all the while a red-faced Pyrrha was giggling all the way.

"Ruby, ha, slow down!" Pyrrha didn't actually want her to slow down- this was the most fun she had in years; Ruby was just too sweet a person to her.

Ruby enthusiastically shook her head from side to side, making Pyrrha laugh more as her body unconsciously dragged her around, spinning and twirling to what seemed to be a sped up waltz. "If you say so!"

Ruby changed her tune of humming, and her position of hands; firstly they were on her hands and hip, but now they were both on her hips, her tuxedo ruffled in places as she swayed to the imaginary music, but nevertheless, she helped Pyrrha adjust quickly to the slower setting.

Pyrrha simply sighed, resting her head on Ruby's shoulder and swaying to the small hums Ruby was making, both staying where they are in relative peace; a stark contrast to how they both were a minute ago.

After a minute of swaying, Pyrrha recognised the tune- she had attended many balls before, and this often played in the background. "Are you humming Artie Shaw?"

"Yes, now shush." Ruby answered before continuing to hum, swaying her hips as she did so.

When Ruby's humming ended, Pyrrha and her eyes met, both shining with happiness and peace, thanks and regret, but most of all; they both held the look of realisation.

Ruby realised she had someone to love her for who she was, not what she was.

Pyrrha realised she loved her friend, and couldn't help what happened next; she leaned down, and captured the insane redhead's lips in her own. To her own surprise, the hands wrapped around her hips wrapped themselves around her head, pulling her closer, her chest pushing up against the younger girl's. Pyrrha was happy.

Ruby thought she heard a sigh of happiness come from Yin, but found it was her own; she was, for the first time, not insanely happy, but truly happy.

They both broke off, but both held each other close.

Ruby didn't even feel embarrassment at her next question; she was too happy. "I liked that."

Pyrrha sighed. "Me too..."

"You know, I might be insane, but I think I insanely like you..." Pyrrha just blushed, her face going scarlet and her body going shy.

"Can I kiss you again?" Pyrrha simply nodded, face flush as Ruby came in and planted a soft, passionate kiss on her lips. They both started kissing, Ruby grabbing Pyrrha's face and hips while Pyrrha had her hands on Ruby's back, pulling her closer.

Both were unaware of the two spectators, but both couldn't be happier for the girl. Yang simply dabbed a hand over her eyes to dry the tears, and Glynda sighed.

"Well done, Ruby. you were wrong..."

They both turned around, walking to their individual dorms, but Glynda turned back at the last second.

"...You have found love after all."

(^^^^^^)

**I hope I did okay. Let me know what you think in reviews, comments or PMs. **


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